edward snowden may stay in russia permanently and even apply for citizenship so says a russian lawyer who's in touch with the whistleblower. scaring the scots the british government goes on a p.r. offensive telling scottish voters their independence could cost them a heap of problems ranging from lower salaries to bigger phone bills. and photos of western weapons in the hands of pro assad militias emerge online and sparking fears the us government may not be able to control where its arms and. thanks for tuning in this hour we've got world news and analysis live for you from

our moscow headquarters and lucy caffein of and you're watching r.t. well on top story the man who exposed america's global surveillance network edward snowden may be looking to settle in russia at least for the medium term the whistleblower has been stuck at a moscow airport for three weeks now because he lacks the papers to leave well live now to our farmer for more details on snowden's plans andrew i am curious the russian attorney who is helping mr snowden here has spoken out what is the whistleblower planning as far as we know so far. for us as we've known for a number of days and asking america could become his final destination but as you say we've known from the lawyer representing mr snowden that russia could become his permanent you home if he does receive temporary asylum and will allow him to live and work freely in russia for one year and after that we're told he might apply for russian citizenship. but if you told me that he's going to

stay in russia and i do not rule out but he may stay here permanently and become a russian citizen with all the rights and responsibilities. well the lawyer that is representing mr snowden also said the main reason that he is applying for asylum here is because he thinks for his own life if he were to the us. or you could make it so that when asked why migration service agents why he chose to prosper titian in russia and why he came here replied that he fears for his life and well being and also fears that he could face torture or execution and what he says sounds quite convincing as the u.s. still administers both capital punishment and torture. and i'm curious mr putin has said there was that the precondition that the kremlin had put out there that mr snowden would have to stop reeling essentially leaking more damaging leaks about the united states in order to stay has anything been said about that.

well it appears that the comments that we've heard is the case mr snowden has great it seems that he would not release the documents that would harm u.s. interests while he is on russian territory in his words mr snowden has said that is something he can do it is an important point because president putin has made this a precondition for asylum and he says that in this whole saga it has been russia's role to take a humanitarian stance and the actions it is taking should not be regarded as hostile towards the u.s. and he also said that mr snowden's actions were actually in defense of human rights . position and of human rights work usually bears some cost for those involved when this work is done under the auspices of the united states government with its financial and political support it's quite acceptable but when someone criticizes washington the situation becomes much more complicated the incident with the

believing president's plane illustrated this. well certainly a sensitive pull it. and what can we expect from mr snowden in the coming days. well in the coming days he should receive these documents that will allow him to go through passport control here at this airport and then come through the exit and onto the russian soil proper because remember at the moment he does not have a valid passport or visa but these documents should arrive with him we understand within the next five days while his application for a temporary asylum is processed which could take up to three months the next thing is that he would require accommodations about something he would have to look for and then it's a question of waiting and seeing if he would actually receive. this temporary asylum so. effectively he's probably

a man clearly much more to ease this afternoon and it could be a new life and a new chapter for him a russia well and i'm sure he'll be happy to stop being a teacher or fridays and whatever other few options that are available for him at the airports are to enter a farmer thank you so much for that update. well snowden's asylum request to russia is assumed to be a stopgap measure if moscow grants and he'll find himself with a breathing room to pursue a longer term asylum in south america or to contributor option or tongues east as it has been a diplomatic nightmare for all involved. he's applying for temporary asylum presumably so he can just go about his business as a normal citizen walk into the venezuelan embassy in moscow walk into be a good korean embassy and fill out forms and papers the obama administration was so quick to just say right we'll spank him unknown citizen and cause him trouble in this way well they didn't just go that route so drabble because most go to trouble because the government's trouble notably the bolivian one with of course the high

jacking drama took place a few weeks ago there is going to make lots of allegations in the press and you'll see them in lots of right wing newspapers that the national security agency is a beacon of freedom and without their ability to surveil your skype account your outlook dot com accounts are in breach of revelations about microsoft the forces stationed in iraq and afghanistan would have sustained formal casualties what rubbish we know the american government in the surveillance state is desperately seeking around to prove that they need to be able to be through all of our emails all of our phone calls for our own security. of course for foot closely following the twists and turns in a snowden saw that both on air and online at r.t. dot com also there you can watch the full interview with a russian attorney who's been helping the former n.s.a. contractor but there's a silent request. scotland's

make or break referendum next areas seeing london feverish play trying to keep britain together with an anti split campaign that sometimes verges on scaremongering parties pulling boyko reports on exactly what what westminster is doing to persuade the scots to vote no. it's just a very year until scots have to answer a simple yes or no question about whether or not they want to break with the united kingdom the scottish national party says there's absolutely no doubt that scotland has the potential to be a successful independent nation with a strong economy but the british government wants scotland to stay in the united kingdom. i believe that england scotland wales northern ireland we are stronger

together than we would. it is time to speak whatever the consequences because something very special is in danger that sense of danger is one that the british government has recently been accused of playing on too heavily though in the run up to the referendum westminster has been busy publishing papers on how it believes independence will be bad for scotland the latest and most bizarre caution is about mobile phone bills a new government paper suggests that if scotland breaks away then scots visiting the u.k. and using their phones will need to pay extortionate very ming charges the scottish government has already debunked that myth saying that all very charges in the european union will be abolished in twenty sixteen but according to whitehall scotland might have to reapply to join the european union as well the british government has also been keen to remind that the royal mail and the post office

will no longer be for scotland should they choose independence nor will the two hundred or so public bodies that deal with bureaucratic procedures such as issuing driving licenses managing roads and even broadcasting such as the b.b.c. is full that hasn't put off for any of those considering voting yes in the referendum next year well a recent think tank report has cautioned that an independent scottish army would struggle to defend itself and what about money well the scots say they'd like to keep the pound something the u.k. chancellor george osborne has been quick to dismiss so if the scots choose independence it could be no pound no easy you know army high phone bills and not even any royal mail to use as an alternative the repeated questions have led to accusations that the anti independence campaign is engaging in scurrilous scaremongering what we're getting there is the kind of fear factor managing you can't be part of a single currency union

a sterling union if you have independent you can't have this you can't have got no these are big. substantial debating points but it should be used as a gun to the heads of scores if you want this is going to be a punishment scotland's first minister has already said that the british government's so-called project fear isn't going to work as we go through the every . month. how more horror film the release of cautions on obscure subjects has reportedly angered senior figures in the u.k. government by dwelling on petty issues such as these many say that only giving credence to the scottish nationalists polyploid care artsy london. earlier my colleague had listened to both sides outline the key pros and cons of a great british break up some say scotland is the richest part of the u.k. outside of london so perhaps scotland actually could go it alone. i agree with that

i think scotland could go i think it would be economically viable i think there's still it's still a big risk that it would create a lot of economic uncertainty for instance what currency would scotland use that examined consistently given different answers on that what would its boring rate its credit rating be we need much greater detail on this but i think scotland could make. countries of similar size which do you wish to well on their own but i just think that scotland is better for being part of the u.k. the u.k. is better for having scotland as part of it the truth is that scotland is more secure today konami clee if we are breaking with westminster we want no truck with illegal wars which cause security problems we want no truck with the standard to which cause great deal of issues for people that are facing not just job losses but actions from their own homes and we have the opportunity here to build

a society which is in fact did advance of a thing that waste most is doing just no should we want to oppose war we want to we want to oppose the states and in their place we want to see scotland taking a peaceful role in the world but we also want to see school and it's actually building an alternative to the market into a new liberalism which let's be honest is one rump and wish minister. there's been a fourth day of protests across the united states over a controversial court ruling thousands are angered by the acquittal of the guilt of the killer of an unarmed black teenager and even the country's attorney general wants a deeper debate on gun control and all racism stories coming up right ahead. also for you at the world games conclude in russia with some of the event and the criticism a tad at the closing ceremony that story in just a few minutes. some

of these traditional. chili lines they've been bred and developed and passed down from generation to. this is a total destruction of the culture of mexico by telling them i mean this this is not going to impact asylum in mexico whatever happens here throughout the whole world now we're not about in the in the you know in the you know all the organs or . genetically engineered crops why do you think this country is full of obese and sick people because we have a crappy food system. please speak your language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on all t.v. reporting from the world talks about six of the yard p. interviews intriguing story to tell you. the troy

arabic to find out more visit our big. welcome back i'm lucy catherine of america and europe may be squarely behind syria's rebels but large numbers of high caliber u.s. and european weapons are circulating among the other side internet images of shiite militia men fighting alongside president assad's troops with western arms have emerged feeling concern that washington won't be able to control where its weapons and up party is going to can reports. weapons don't discriminate us made arms our national will not be in the hands of iranian backed militias fighting in syria analysts phillips might point to photos with hezbollah fighters coating us made m. sixteen s and m. force fitted with laser and holographic sights as well as an two or three grenade

launchers. how do they end up in their hands if there's a will there's a way and if you want to get let's say and i'm two or three grenade launcher in an employer car being they'll find a way to get it so long as you have the right amount of money and the right amount of connections it's not clear whether the weapons were captured stolen or bought on the black market this weapon might be ended up in the hands of hezbollah from. military or lebanese army of course illegal but i don't believe that is and i. could be the source of this weapon iraq similar us designed weapons appear in the hands of syrian rebels including fighters was all new sort of front and al qaeda affiliate the us has designated a terrorist group it shows the alarming tendency for the weapons to change hands in unexpected ways but despite this the obama administration has decided to directly arm the rebels in syria

a move supported by washington's hawks are you we can give them the heavy weapons that they need who's there who's in them i know them i've met them they're there unfortunately for senator mccain some of the rebels he met in syria were kidnappers and his office had to issue a statement saying the senator did not know that when he agreed to do a photo op with them but not everyone in washington thinks flooding syria with more arms is the solution a group of congressmen have introduced the legislation to block an unauthorized u.s. military aid to syrian rebels arguing that the law prohibits any military assistance to syrian opposition forces unless congress issues a formal declaration of war since our nation's security interests in syria are unclear risk giving money and military assistance to enemies. there's great ironies supporting the syrian rebels one will be supporting forces that are associated with al-qaeda the two thousand and one use of authorization of force said specifically

that we could go after the taliban al qaeda and associated forces we will now be one of those associated forces because we will be allied with al qaeda against assad the voice of caution comes not only from the president's opposition in congress but also from former administration officials for us to think we can influence or determine the outcome of that i think is a mistake i thought it was a mistake in libya. and i think it is a mistake in syria we overestimate our ability to determine outcomes you may think that the u.s. has learned the hard way that by forming friends you may be arming your enemies but it seems you're with leaders yet again are ready to take that risk in washington i'm going to check on. us laws on self defense gun control and racism need revamping now this is according to the country's attorney general thousands had rallied across america in the past few days since the acquittal of george zimmerman that he is the florida neighborhood watch volunteer who had killed

a black teenager by the name of trayvon martin last year that was ruled to be self-defense even though trayvon was an armed law professor charles rose said that says that it's not about race but about gun controls. the road to the ease with which you can not only purchase a weapon but then use that weapon to defend yourself in the state of florida in approximately twenty other states is really what led to this tragedy not the issue of race i prefer to think that what it gets us in the united states to do is to what we as a nation of immigrants always need to do to talk about how we come together and that issue of race is an issue that's always present within the united states and it gives us an opportunity once the emotion is run itself out to talk about this in a way that can be positive for the country in the long term it was not about race it was about self-defense and who was the aggressor race had nothing to do with it but it's become synonymous with racial issues within the united states and that's what something takes on

a life of its own becomes very difficult to separate them back into what the objective truth is my big well for a different take we spoke to social justice expert professor lisa albrecht from minnesota university and she believes that there are no zimmerman's acquittal reflects a deep racial bias within the u.s. legal system. well the data shows the justice system in this country is racialized from the moment of impact police arrest more people hold and white people. are convicted in greater numbers they serve sentences that are longer and there are greater numbers of people color in prisons in the united states are given in terms of their population so we already have all that data and that this we see as a continuation of the trend this man has been acquitted so now is the time for our government to hear our voices that's why i live in minneapolis and the state of minnesota we will have thousands of people in downtown minnesota in front of

a court to share our concerns about these issues. well of course we here in our tale is want to know what you think and you have a chance to log on to our web site an r t dot com and tell us what you think about the acquittal let's take a look at how the numbers have broken down so far for those of you who have cast their ballots as you can see here thirty nine percent that's most of you agree with the court's decision that said that zimmerman was acting in legitimate self-defense now those of you are separated by about five percentage point margin from those who believe that zimmerman actually started the fight because of the teenager's race now eleven percent in the orange right here are undecided saying there's simply not enough evidence to judge and the remainder of you tell you tell us that you're not really following the case quite closely so for those of you who are following it go online log on and have a chance to vote our team dot com. it's

. guantanamo bay authorities say that some hunger striking prisoners are now setting food they believe the mass rebellion that has plagued the center for months now is easing up but lawyers for some of the detainees say that only a token amount of food has been eaten those to break the holy ramadan fast human rights lawyer clive stafford smith was refusing to eat in solidarity with the inmates says that there are serious concerns are being overshadowed by the announcement doesn't really matter how many people are on strike because the real principle here is that fifty two percent. for release should just be released the

president president said so so they just need do it now in terms of the ones who are on hunger strike the u.s. military is fibbing about it and they've done this the last thirty years. some of the prisoners are taking a little bit to eat because that sort of program does during ramadan to break your fast but i'm not giving up i think their military service plans to continue with force i'm afraid but everything the military understands is trying to force people to bend to their will now i don't think the united states france start releasing prisoners and i think finally we're getting the message through the way house and hopefully some prisoners will start being released tonight. that quick look now at some of this hour's other world headlines we begin in egypt where the interim president has sworn in a new cabinets dominated by liberal politicians now it doesn't include anyone from

the muslim brotherhood which had propelled mohamed morsi to the presidency the islamist group dismissed the camp and its formation it supporters are now pledging mass demonstrations egypt's political turmoil escalated earlier this month when morsi was toppled by the army i meant protests against his leadership. hundreds of police reinforcements have been called to belfast in northern ireland to help restore control after five nights of riots across the city the violence began almost a week ago after u.k. loyalists had were prevented from walking through a mainly nationalist area half a dozen cars were burnt and dozens of petrol bombs lobbed by protesters as the police came under attack on tuesday night. a prominent supporter of president bashar al assad's government in syria has been shot dead by gunmen in neighboring lebanon on the syrian state media commentator was found dead in his home his body riddled with dozens of bullets lebanese security services say rebel groups in syria their main suspects it raises more fears over the civil war

spreading out to even more countries in the region. protesters have rallied in the greek capital to demand an end to government budget cuts amid a twenty four hour nationwide strike that has brought the country to a grinding halt several thousand demonstrators gathered peacefully outside of the parliament building waving flags and chanting slogans it comes before a vote on wednesday to set up a so-called reserve labor force of twenty five thousand people but there is concern that this could lead to more greeks being put out of work. the world student games are coming to a close in the russian city of cazan now the host country is overwhelming lead in the medals count has been somewhat marred by criticism that moscow has been politicizing the games we're now from archies paul scott who's at the venue. well for the last twelve days to more than thirteen thousand student athletes from

one hundred sixty countries now these games boasted more sports than ever before and there were more gold medals on offer than even at the london olympics last summer three hundred fifty one gold in total that is a record breaking number tens of millions of people have watched these games worldwide and russian estimates say that seven hundred thousand spectators have descended on over the last fortnight well russia top the medals table some margin as well they currently have one hundred fifty one gold medals to their name challenger in second place who have just twenty four and it has led to some people suggesting that russia politicizing the games an intent to enhance the nation's sporting reputation added what is going to be a massive decade of sport for the country now this criticism stems from the fact that russia do have a number of professional athletes competing in their ranks up against the amateurs . who are the game's governing body the committee that oversees the games they

check every athletes for eligibility and their credentials and the rules are the same for anyone and for russia's part they say that less than ten percent of their entire squad is actually made up by professional athletes now the other criticism of being a indication the organizers is the cost of the games at the start of the games russian estimates said that the games cost four point five billion u s dollars now that's not just a one off payment organizes jesting it's not a one off payment for a twelve day parties a long term investment not just in the. generation of sporting athletes but also in the city which has undergone a huge renovation in the last five years as a new transport network new hotels and you student university campus of course the new sporting venues have all been built from scratch but all attention to the. closing ceremony is set to take place. i'll have more news in about

a half an hour before then we take a look at the powerful interests behind the genetically modified food industry. please see. its first trip. and i think that you're. on a reporter's. instrument. to be in the.

controlling the seeds is not some abstraction whoever provides the world seeds controls the world's food supply arlington steel vanity fair.

for the first time corporations are patenting products that are self replicating uncontrollable and irretrievable. genetically engineered pollen carried by wind insects bacteria viruses and humans has inadvertently traveled the globe. scientists in laboratories and corporate spokespeople would have americans believe that pollen from flowering plants in the open environment can be controlled farmers hay fever sufferers and anyone who observes the chaotic natural world would disagree tonight a look into the world of genetically modified organisms through the lens of new mexico's iconic chili peppers. at the plant genetic engineering laboratory on the campus of new mexico state university in las cruces scientists are developing a genetically.